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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cap — of ice
  3. march — the month
  4. wake — a trail
  5. march — music
  6. tear — from crying
  7. current — electric
  8. tear — from crying
  9. current — of water
  10. rash — a series
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the fish
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. current — happening now
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. rash — hasty
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. perch — the fish
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com